Pollinators provide ecosystem services and facilitate plant reproduction. Plant-pollinator interactions often benefit both partners and are considered mutualisms. However, cheating can occur in these interactions when floral visitors take resources from plants without providing any benefit (Smithson 2013). One example of this kind of cheating is nectar robbing, which occurs when a pollinator collects nectar from a hole in the flower’s corolla and bypasses pollination. We compared the variation of floral nectar robbing between two species of manzanita, Arctostaphylos viscida (whiteleaf manzanita) and A. manzanita (common manzanita). We examined both buds and blooms to explore the relationship between age on the robbing behavior of floral visitors. We found no difference in the percent of nectar robbing between whiteleaf and common manzanita. There was no notable difference of nectar robbing between blooms and buds in common manzanita, however, there was nearly three times more nectar robbing on blooms than buds in whiteleaf manzanita. Studying nectar robbing behavior, as well as its impact on flowering plants, can help monitor successful and unsuccessful pollination.

CEC Research Volume 5, Issue 1